
AN ADDRESS 



JOHN PATTON, 



Delivered at Lansing, Mich., October 12, 1898, at the 

Unveiling of the Statue, Erected by the 

State of Michigan, in the Capitol 

Grounds, to the 

Memory 

of 



AUSTIN BLAII^ 



WAR GOVERNOR. 



.^ 




Class RS^;^ 

HRESE.VTCD in' 



\ 



Compliments ot- 



JOHN PATTON, 

Grand Rapids, Mich. 



AN ADDRESS 



JOHN PATTON, 



Delivered at Lansing, Mich., October 12, 1898, at the 

Unveiling of the Statue, Erected by the 

State of Michigan, in the Capitol 

Grounds, to the 

Memory 

of 



AILSTIX' I^LAII^ 

WAR GOVERNOR. 




I<rtl«> • .^'« 



Oft 



AN ADDRESS 

BV 

JOHN PATTON, 

AT 

LANSING, MICHIGAN, 
OCT. 12, 1898. 

At the Unveiling of the Statue, erected to the 

memory of 

GOV. AUSTIN BLAIR. 

We have met to witness the completion of an hon- 
orable work, which was inspired by the reverent and 
g-rateful homag'e a patriotic people pays to illustrious 
public service. In the presence of the Chief Executive 
and State Officers, the Honorable Secretary of War, 
members of Congfress and of the Legislature, surrounded 
by our rulers and Judg-es, and these gray haired veterans, 
the representatives of that great army, now so sadl}' deci- 
mated, of ninety thousand of the sons of Michigan who 
responded so cheerfully to his call in the war for the 
Union; with these tattered and glorious battle flags 
brought out from their holy resting places in yonder 
capitol to do him reverence, mute but more eloquent than 
words of the victorious fields on which they were carried, 
by the loyal hands to which he committed them, so many 
of which, alas, have been stiffened in death: with the 



"Hero of Santia<jo,"* the yallant Shatter and these later 
soldier boys browned by southern suns and tresh from 
the fields which have added unfadin<r laurels to our 
arms, advanced the American name and carried the bles- 
sinfjs of liberty to the islands of the sea, with these — and 
this vast concourse of our citizens, we have assembled to 
do honor to the memory of our j^reat war jrovernor, and 
unveil the statue of Austin Blair. 

His achievements have already been yiven to the 
paye of history, and the heroic epoch in which he lived 
and laliorecl, is fast recedinof into the misty twilig-ht of 
le^endarj^ fame. A g"eneration has grown to manhood 
since his yreatest work was done here, and now, with 
partisan rancor and passion all buried in his grave, we 
have come to recall his fruitful life and public service as 
he stands revealeil in tlie i)erspective of tlu' i)ast. 

To you, who were his devoted friends and contempo- 
raries, I can present no picture of the man. as he was, 
which can equal that which is jihotographed on your 
memories, nor would I attempt it: anil only an inspired 
tongue could properly portray his lofty patriotism and 
unwavering courage, his unsullied integritv and conse- 
cration to duty, and his heroic services in those hours of 
trial when, with the mightiest things in his keeping, he 
was faitlifiil and true. 

It is the first statue erected here by the state in 
honor of any of her renowned citizens, and he has been 
singled out for this high honor because his career was 
one of ])atriotic devotion to the interests of Michigan and 
entitles him to this recognition. At Gettysburg when 
the Michigan monuments were dedicated and for the last 
time he said farewell to the soldiers of Michigan, in that 



— D — 

patlietic address which l)rou<^'ht tears to the eyes, he 
said, " The teae-hings of heroes will not pass away." It 
is ill this spirit toda}' we erect this memorial, that he 
may stand here as a teacher of that heroic time, and that 
the noble influences which he exerted may be recalled 
and perpetuated amono- our ciiildrens' children. 

The accomplished sculptor has produced a work of 
art which appeals by its own merits. It shows him in 
a characteristic pose as he was accustomed to address 
the people in a g^reat crisis, in the attitude of public 
speaking-, with the whole form tlirilling- with nervous 
enero-y as he advocated the cause of his country. It is a 
likeness of him which none who ever saw him as he lived 
and moved among- us will fail to recog-nize. 

Its position, too, is a most fitting- one, here in the 
walk leading- to the capitol, the symbol of the State for 
which he made such costly sacrifices and served so well, 
and the thousands who shall pass this spot every year 
will see this silent lironze fig-ure and these eloquent ex- 
tracts from his messagfes on the granite pedestal, and re- 
call the story of his brave and incorruptible life. 

It is a singular parallel that in the year of his birth, 
the public questions which were discussed, were much 
the same as those wliich are of absorbing- interest now. 
Knvironment and the first knowledg-e of public matters 
have much to do with making- the child but the father of 
the man, and the first voices to which Austin Blair list- 
ened in his earlv youth undoubtedly had much to do with 
his subsequent career. When he first opened his eyes 
eigfhtv years ag;o in the log- cabin in Western New York, 
in Tompkins county, where his father, Georg-e Blair, 
had '"felled the first tree, liuilt the first log; cabin, and 



burned the first log- heap." Gov. I)c Witt Clinton had just 
beffun that wonder of enyineerinor, the Erie canal. Com- 
pleted seven years later, it married the lakes to the sea. 
solved the problem of cheap transportation, and by bring- 
ing' the products of the west through the Empire state, 
poured a steady stream of wealth into it which filled it 
with prosperous inland cities and made New York the 
commercial metropolis of the nation. The people every- 
where were discussing internal improvements, our rela- 
tions to Spain, and the Canadian fisheries as they are 
now. The Seminole war and (len. Jackson's forcible 
anne.xation of East Florida had made war with Spain 
almost unavoidable. It resulted finally in the peaceful 
acquisition of the Floridas and the glory of military con- 
quest, stirred the enthusiasm of the country and made 
Jackson the hero of the hour. With his strong rugged 
figure appearing on the horizon <as a possible candidate 
for the presidency, Henry Clay from his place in the sen- 
ate deplored the impending ilanger when " liberty in 
this republic would be overthrown by military chieft- 
ains." It was in that vear Webster made his famous 
speech in the Dartmouth college case, and at Abbotts- 
ford. Scott was writing the Waverly novels. 

Coincident with his birth was precipitated the 
debate on slavery which raged until its final aboli- 
tion. In that same year, ISIH. then' occurred an 
event momentous in its results. The political balance 
between the slave and free states had. by tacit con- 
sent, been maintained ever since 178') and the states 
had been admitted alternately as representing either 
slavery or freedom. It was thought that this 
course was essential to the very existence of the 



unicin, and the excitement can be imagined when on the 
day the bill to admit Alabariia came before the senate 
Missouri knocked at the door of the house of representa- 
tives. This was the first chang-e in the manner of ad- 
mission ; and to a young- congressman from New York, 
James Talmadgfe. then but thirty years of age, who 
served but one term and was never heard of agfain, is due 
the honor of moving- the restriction to the enabling- act for 
the admission of Missouri, which forbade the further in- 
troduction of slaves and promised freedom to the chil- 
dren of those already there. This was the electric touch 
which set the g-iant forces in motion, the spark which 
enkindled the flame of passionate debate which burned 
with fury until it was forever quenched in the blood of 
civil war. 

Waterloo had been foug-ht, the face of the foreig-n 
world had been changfed, the Spanish-American colonies 
were in revolution, and Henry Clay with thrilling- elo- 
quence was pleading- for their liberties and uttering- those 
impassioned speeches which have been quoted so often 
in the past three years. It was the echo from these con- 
tests which came to him on the farm and in the school, 
and he could not help but listen to it. 

" Who," said Josiah Ouincy to John Randolph, " was 
the most eloquent orator you ever heard? " "The most 
eloquent orator I ever heard," replied Randolph, " was 
a woman, a slave, a mother, and her rostrum was the 
auction block." This orator appealed straig-ht to the 
liberty-loving- heart of Austin Blair as she had to that 
of his father before him, and at Cazenovia seminary and 
Union college, the picture of the slave mother and her 
child was ever before him. What Burke so sadlv said 



— 8— 

of his son wlio was cut off in carlv vmitli. mitjht have 
been said of liim " He was made a public creature." 

He was a born leader ot men. and a study of his life 
brings jironiinently before us the fact that in every place 
he filled he assumed and exercised the leadership which 
came naturally to him. 

He served on the Judiciary committee in the legfisla- 
ture, was a member of the Ct)nference Committee in the 
Buffalo Free Soil convention, served on the Committee 
on Resolutions at the birth of the republican party in 
1854. was Chairman of the Michijjan delegation in the 
National Republican Convention of 18(j(l, and was one of 
the leadinjjf spirits in the conference of loyal governors 
at Altoona in 18()2. He was a member of the Committee 
of Foreiffn Affairs in the 4(tth Conyress. and Speaker 
Blaine recog^nized his talents by mal<in<^- liim a member 
of the Ways and Means Committee in the 41st. and he 
was Chairman of the Committee on Claims in the 42d 
Congfress. He was always a leader, and his talents trave 
him instant recoifnition wherever he was placed. 

When he be^an his i)rofessional life at Jackson in 
1841, to the youn<i' lawyer came the same tem])tati(ms 
which had beset Phillips and Sumner in the early part of 
their lives. He was an educated man, conscious of super- 
ior powers, just -enterinf^' on a profession which prom- 
ised wealth and distinction, with slavery dominalinj^ 
legislation, defended from the pulpit and the bench, 
with the avenues of preferment closed to him who would 
disturb it, and as he stood at the parting- of the ways, 
on one side were compromise and ease, on the other con- 
tumely and bitterness; but it is to his everlastinj,*- honor 
that he did not hesitate which to choose. He took the 



— 9— 

slave for his client and said, as did Martin Luther, 
"Here I stand, I can take no other course. God help 
me!" It is a leaf in the wreath of laurel which crowns 
him that in the first legislature in which he sat in 1845 
as a member of the Judiciary Committee, he brought in 
an earnest minority report againt all color and race dis- 
tinction as applied to the elective franchise and advo- 
cated strikino- the word '-white" from the constitution 
of the state. Remember, he did this against the advice 
and pleadings of his timid friends who said it would 
defeat him at the next election, as it did; but this 
was Austin Blair who never did a public act with a 
thought of how it would affect his personal fortunes. 
He was not politic, he was not moved by expediency. 
He had enlisted under the banner of freedom, and know- 
ing that he was right, he was devoted to duty wherever 

it led him. 

He was a man of sublime courage and flawless 

integrity. 

No corporation was ever powerful enough to buy 
his vote or pen. No agent ever soiled his hand with a 
bribe, and his honesty was as unquestioned as an axiom, 
as bright as the stars. He was never owned by any 
human being, he feared no one but God, and he loathed 
the arts of the demagogue and despised the tactics of 
the trimming politician. Public office was to him but the 
opportunity to be of service to his state and country, 
:ind was never used for personal profit. He believed in 
parties, but considered them only a means toward an 
end, and he did not, as a member of congress hesitate to 
attack corruption, whether he found it in the office of 



-10— 

the Postmaster General or the Secretaiv <if the Navy of 
the administration of his party. 

(iovernor Blair was a man of stroni;- feeliny, in- 
tensely in earnest for a cause or a man, and he shared in 
the passionate admiration men had for Henry Clay. He 
clunff to his fortunes until the Whiy convention in 1848 
passed him by for Tavlor. when he met with the Free 
Soil convention at Buffalo and helped to nominate Van 
Buren and Adams. If he had no other title to remem- 
brance, his name would still be honored for the promi- 
nent part he took in the great uprising- in this state in 
IH.^4 after the passajje of the Kansas and Nebraska act, 
when Whij^s and Free Soilers, Liberty men and Demo- 
crats, tlun}^- party ties to the winds and founded the 
Republican party. He stood beside such men as Chand- 
ler of the lion heart. Bin^>'ham, Howard and Gorham, 
who -pays a tribute to him by his presence here today, 
and is full of years and honors. When the committee on 
resolutions met untler the clump of trees at the edg^e 
of the oak opening- at Jackson to deliberate on that 
terrific arraignment of slaverv. Austin Blair was a 
member of it. He shared in its honors with that g^reat 
man. Jacob M. Howard who sleeps at Elmwood, in 
Detroit, under a stone on which are inscribed the words 
of the thirteenth amendment to the constitution f)t the 
United States, for its passagfe was due to him. His 
whole heart and soul were in the movement to elevate 
Seward to the presidency and no man was more pained 
at the defeat of his idol by the comparatively unknown 
Lincoln at Chicag-o ; and yet for the cause, with tears 
in his voice, he supported the nomination in a short 
speech of rare power and eloquence. Nominated by his 



—11— 

party for Governor, hu threw himself into that memor- 
able canvass with all his energ"v, and was elected by 
20,000 majority. 

When he took his seat here in January, 1S()1, the 
storm of rebellion was imminent, the state treasury 
was bankrupt, and the treasurer a fuyitive from 
justice ; good men were in dispair, and the air was 
filled with alarm and uncertaintv, as the verv founda- 
tions of our government were threatened. No yox'ernor 
ever confronted a more alarming- situation, but he was 
equal to it, and his first messag-e g^ave hope to the timid 
and was potential in the unparalled awakeningf of the 
north which followed the attack on Sumter. What 
thrilling" memories come as we hear ag^ain the bugle 
blast of that first messagfe I How set and determined 
these ring-ing- words on the eve of battle: 

"They who think that this g-ovenment can be dis- 
rupted peacfully, have read history to no purpose. The 
sons of the men who carried arms in the seven vears' 
war with the most powerful naticm in the world, to 
establish this g"overnment, will not hesitate to make 
equal sacrifices to maintain it. I recommend to you to 
make manifest to the gentlemen who represent this state 
in the two houses of Congress, that Michigan is loyal to 
the Union, the Constitution and the Laws, and will de- 
fend them to the uttermost, and to proffer to the 
President of the United States the whole military power 
of the state for that purpose." 

What stirring words of hope and courage he uttered 
during these stormy years! The Puritan and the sol- 
dier of Cromwell spoke in him again when he said, in 



—12- 

1862 — when tlu- niyht \v;is dnrk and the way was uncer- 
tain: 

"No property' of a rebel ouyht to be free from conlis- 
cation. not even a sacred slave; he who is not for the 
Union in this mortal struffyle is ajfainst it. The hifi'h- 
est dictates of patriotism, justice and humanity combine 
to demand that the war should be conducted to a speedv 
close, upon principles of the most heroic ener<»"y and ret- 
ributive ]3ower. Hurl the Union forces, which outnum- 
ber him two to one, upon his whole line like a thunder- 
bolt, pav them out of his property, feed them from his 
<rranaries, mount them upon his horses and carry them 
in his wajjons, if he has any, and let him feel the full 
force of the storm of war which he has raised." 

From the spriny of 1S61 until tlie war closed, over 
ninety thousand men were enlisted and put into service. 
Thev com|)rised thirty reg^iments of infantry, one 
reyiment of sharpshooters, one regiment of engineers 
and mechanics, thirteen batteries of light artillery 
and eleven regiments of cavalry. Nearly all were 
volunteers. Michigan filled every quota, and it is 
ever to be remembered that, owing to his efforts, 
she was ready when the contest opened and her 
troops under Willco.x were among the first to enter 
the national capital. The great question was not 
who should go, but who shoulil be compelled to stay. 
With rare foresight Gov. Blair otlicered the early regi- 
ments with men who were experienced soldiers and he 
gave to the Union cause and history such names as 
Richardson. Roberts, Poe, Custer and Phil. Sheridan. 
Through all those years of agony he labored here as 
few men have, sacrificing all he had for the cause of the 



—13— 

union. 1 can weave no lairer <;"arland for him than to 
sav that he was g'overnor of Michig'an from 1S()1 to 18()5 
at a salary of (.me thousand doHars a year, and witli 
opportunities to enrich himself on every hand, he retired 
from office an impoverished man. 

We may say of him, as he said of the soldiers at the 
dedication of the monument at Detroit: "In the hearts 
of a gTateful people, in the history of a most memoralile 
and victorious struggle, in a literature overflowing- with 
eulog"y and in a well deserved applause of all mankind 
who love liberty antl hate oppression, is written the no- 
i)le epitaph that will stand as long" as anything" human 
endures." 

How beautiful his reference there to the dead. It 
sounds as if it had been written for this day : 

"If we could summon them from their resting" places 
today and bring" them before you here in their martial 
array, the closed column would fill all these streets and 
avenues with an army more than ten thousand strong", and 
how many old familiar faces would look out from the 
noblest of armies as it filed past. How many sad and 
"■lorious memories would come throngfing" back upon us of 
a victorious and martial combat. Heroic death and 
g"lorious victory would rise before our vision, and how 
exultingfly should we behold the tattered, blood-be- 
sprinkled flag"s carried by the hands that upheld them 
trium])hantly in battle."" 

He earned the title of "The Soldier"s Friend,"' and no 
letter ever came from the humblest private which re- 
maincil unanswered. His sleepless care followed them in 
the shock of battle, w-as with them in the hospitals among" 
the wounded, and he tenderly received and sent to the 



— u— 

lovitiiT ones the honored dead. He bore uncomplaininy-ly 
the weijrhtiest burdens, and we can imaifine his ni^fht 
viofils in this citv. when all that we held dear was im- 
periled. He cared not only for the soldier in the field, 
hut fur the wife and children left behind and saw that 
they did not suffer. This was promised to induce en- 
listments and was faithfully kept at a larg-e e.xpense to 
the places charged with the execution of the laws which 
had been passed for this purpose. The office of gover- 
nor is at all times full of cares and perple.xities, but in 
time of war its burdens are well-nigh overwhelming. 
He must see that every call of the general government 
is complied with, every duty ])erformeil. He raises the 
regiments and commissions every ofBcer. He is blamed 
for the incompetency and neglect of others, and he 
stands between the people and the harpies who at sucii 
times seek to plunder the state. For four years his 
days and nights were given to the consideration of cares 
iniunnerahk. and l)unlens that were almost overpower- 
ing, and he earned and has the full measure of our grat- 
itude. 

In the crisis of rebellion, the strongest men came to 
the front in official life, and it was an extremely fortu- 
nate thing that when the war ojiened, the governors of 
the loyal states were men of such pre-eminent intellect- 
ual abilitv and actuated by such loft}' patriotism. They 
have won immortal renown as " war governors." and 
among them all, Austin Blair took high rank. It is a 
galaxy of names which has not been surpassed in the 
historv of our country. Massachusetts furnished John 
A. Andrew, whose eloquence and patriotism link his 
name inseparably with the great struggle; Buckingham 



—15— 

of Connecticut, was a beloved citizen and a leader of 
men who "wore the white flower of a blameless life." 
Curtin. of Pennsylvania, was eloquent and energ-etic 
and had a most captivating- and winning personality. 
Morton, of Indiana, was a giant in debate, a man of un- 
l)endino- will, in the prime of life, and fit to make the 
great battle which he fought in Indiana. Kirkwood, of 
Iowa, was a leader of great power, strong at every 
point. Yates, of Illinois, was popular and able. And 
it is the testimony of James G. Blaine that "Austin 
Blair, of Michigan, was a worthv compeer of these emi- 
nent officials and administered his high trust with honor 
to himself and advantage to his country." 

The war governors occupied a peculiar relation 
towards President Lincoln, and he was accustomed to 
confer with them frequently. Every call for troops 
went to them, and on them was cast the responsibility 
of seeing that it was responded to. They visited the 
departments at Washington frequently, and were 
brought into intimate association with the President 
and Secretary of War, and he leaned on them and 
trusted them as he did few other men. 

Gov. Blair has left a manuscript history of a meet- 
ing of the loyal governors in 1862, which is an important 
contribution to the history of the war and has not yet 
been published. It is called " The Conference of Loyal 
Governors at Altoona, Pennsylvania, September 24, 
1862." The histories of the time speak of it simply as 
a meeting where those governors conferred, issued an 
address to the President and asked him to "call for a 
force of volunteers for one year's service, of not less than 
100,000 in the aggregate, the quota of each state to be 



—16— 

raised after it sh.ill have tilled its cjuota of the requisi- 
tions already made." 

It was a private conference and was unreported, and 
the reasons for holdiny it were merelv a matter of con- 
jecture, and few Utiew why it was held. It was called 
at a time when the splendidly equipped armv of the Po- 
tomac under McClellan. which was expected to capture 
Richmond, had suffered tlefeat in the Peninsula cam- 
jjaig'n in the seven days" ti'fhting' before Richmond. 
Manassas had been lost and Pope had been forced inside 
the fortifications at Washin.ifton. It was a period of 
yfreat ^loom and despondency, and the movements of 
(ien. Lee's army north, for the invasion of the border 
states, filled the country with apprehension. There 
was but little volunteerinff, there was no draft law. and 
loval men were in despair. 

Gov. Curtin was sick in the City of New York and 
there met Secretary Seward who, panic-stricken, had 
the mavor of Philadelphia with him and was about to 
call upon the maN'ors of New York and Boston to advise 
some method for increasing- the army. Additional troops 
were an absolute necessity, and the President, in this 
peril, hesitated to issue the call for fear it would not be 
responded to. (iov. Curtin sugfg-ested that it would be 
better for the governors of the loyal states to meet and 
take action in the matter, and on communicating with 
the President, he g-ave his approval. The governors 
were reached bv wire and a majority of them met at 
Altoona, but under brighter skies, for Antietam had 
been fou<rht on Sept. 17, and on Sept. 22 the emancipa- 
tion proclamation had been issued. Lee's army had not 
been destroyed, as it should have been, after Antietam. 



— 17— 

and the situation was still perilous. A ring-ing- address 
was written by Andrew and sig-ned by the most of 
those present and the governors in person went to Wash- 
ington and handed it to President Lincoln. This prompt 
action gave new hope to the country, filled up the ranks 
of the decimated armies and saved the cause of the Union. 

Alexander H. Stephens, vice-president of the Confed- 
eracy, when he was a member of congress after the war, 
said that this meeting of the loyal governors was the 
severest blow the South received in the early part of the 
war. It was relying on the disaflfection of the North 
and the effect of the victories to prevent fresh troops 
but this meeting and its results revealed a spirit among 
the northern states which made the contest a death 
struggle to the end. It was in its effect as thrilling and 
timely as the united vote of Congress for fifty millions 
of dollars at the beginning of the late war. 

Gov. Blair was active and earnest in the work of the 
conference and rendered here a great service to his 
country'. 

How proud he was of the soldiers of Michigan! In 
his last message he said to the legislature: "Again and 
for the last time I commend the Michig-an troops to vour 
continued care and sujiport. They have never failed in 
their dutj' to the country or to the state. Upon every 
great battlefield of the war their shouts have been 
heard and their sturdy blows have been delivered for 
the Union and victory. In every situation their bravery 
has won the approval of their commanders, and their 
heroic endurance of hardship has added lustre to their 
names. It is my sole regret at quitting office that I 
part with them." 



—18— 

He was, after the war. three times a member of Con- 
gress and left a record of faithful and honorable service 
in that body. The teachings of Clay appear in his pow- 
erful speech on the tariff, and his views on financial 
([uestions were reflected in his sjJi-ech of 1868 when he 
stood bv the honor of the nation and assisted Garfield in 
his jjfreat measure to strengthen the jJublic credit. 
"There is indeed'" said he, "a small party of political 
freebooters who boldly propose to repudiate this debt: 
l>ut no man who has any fear, either of infamy in this 
world, or of the pang's of the second ileath, will make 
haste to join them. It is safe to affirm upon the honor 
of the American people, which has never j'et been de- 
filed, that this debt will be paid." 

His service as a member of the Boartl of Reg"ents of 
the State University was con<i"enial and valuable, as his 
interest in the cause of education never flajrg'ed. 

The professional life of Gov. Blair was interrupted 
many times, l)ut his <jreat ability as a lawyer was 
widely recogfnized. and his work in the courts of the 
state was conspicuous and distin'^'uished. He was se- 
lected by his party as a candidate for the higfhest judic- 
ial honors, as a member of the Supreme Court, but in 
that vear tlu' i)i)p()siti()n candidates were elected. 

We see him yet, in the last years of his life, at con- 
ventions and public meetinofs, and in the courts of law, 
attended by the veneration and love of the jieople, hailed 
bv the affectionate title of the "Ohl War Govenor," 
and look ag"ain upon his g-lowing- face and hear the tones 
of his resonant voice, which was so eloquent; and as the 
old Dutch painters used the shadows in their pictures to 
briny out more clearlv the lineaments of the face, so as 



-19- 

the shadows of death j^rew about him, the beaut}' of his 
character and the gflory of his service to the state shone 
resplendent on that somber background. And thus he 
passed as Carlyle said of another, "into that still 
country' where the hail storms and fire showers do not 
reach, and the heaviest laden wayfarer at leng'th laj's 
down his weary load." 

There is a tradition amongf the Ottomans that when 
the battle rag^es most fiercely, there may be seen amid 
the wreaths of cannon smoke the shadowy form of 
Solyman, their dead leader and g^reatest ruler, sur- 
rounded by divinified heroes, and man}' times when the 
daj' has been almost lost they have called his name and 
with renewed courage have pushed on and won the 
figfht. There will be contests for us all, they are upon 
us even now, and the line will waver and men gfrow sick 
at heart at the steadv atlvance of so much that is base 
and corrupting- in our politics; but above the roar and 
smoke of the conflict we may, if we will, still see this 
undaunted form, and if we so choose, some of the g^lory 
of his noble life may be reflected in ours, urging- on 
to fresh victories and g'reater triumphs. We owe it to 
him and to ourselves, to here pledg-e anew devotion 
to our country and solemnly avow our determination to 
be worthy of the heritagfe which has come to us. 

As finally in the longf weary way he walked for us, 
from the Valley of the Shadow of Death there bloomed 
the fair flower of Freedom for the slave, so now on the 
heig"hts of Santiagfo has at last flowered the plant of 
National Unity, almost a century in gTowing, which fills 
our dear land with fragrance and with joy. 

He was g^reat in war, and like the greatest, he was 
mag-nauimous in peace. He advocated universal amnesty 
and reconciliation, and we have witnessed the fulfillment 



—20— 

of his prophecj' made in ;in address in 1S71 when he said: 
"The soldiers of the Union will shake hantls with those 
of the Confederacy under the Hatf of a country that is 
free enoug"h and g^reat enouffh for all. They are all de- 
scendants ot the men wlio fouj^'ht side hv >ide in '7() and 
1812. Thev carried the rtaj^- tojjether at Chapultepec 
and Buena Vista, and they will carry it tog-ether ayain 
on the grander fields of the future." Thank God,«we may 
now write the names of Lee and Wheeler and Hobson 
by the side of Dewey and Shafter and Schley and we are 
ag^ain one country, under but one flag", with one destiny. 
It is worth ail it cost to have this accomplished and to 
the problems of the future we may turn with confidence 
and hope. 

In Walter Scott's ballad of " Bonnie Dunilee," 
when Claverhouse is asked where he is g"oing", he replies, 
" I go whither guides me tlu' g^host of Montrose:" so 
when in the days to come there shall be temi)t.ition and 
trial for those whom the people have chosen to represent 
them here, when thej' shall need brave champions, when 
the allurements of expediency' and time serving" shall 
almost stifle the call of duty, let our Montrose still lead 
on. May these voiceless lijis still speak, anil the sig^ht of 
this calm, determined face recall the ag"e of heroes and 
inspire to greater courag^e and loftier ideals. Ma}' this 
bronze fig^ure, fittinglv standing" in front of the Hagf he 
helped to save, here in the city where he suffered and en- 
dured so much, look out on this g"reat state he loved so 
well, and still tell the story of his patriotic, stainless life 
to a people who will listen to this voice and emulate him. 

Let it testify that republics are not ungrateful, and 

that Michigan remembers with pride and ."lifection those 

of her sons who have rendered great and faithful service 

and deserved well of their country. 

•' Not he that breaks tlie dams, but he 
That through the channels of the state 
Convoys the people's wish, is great: 
His name is pure, his fame is free." 



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